1A-Cooling SET-5Z280V1 Water Cooling Kit Review

Aah, I remember it well. It was a cloudy Belgian Sunday, with nothing more to do then watching the good ?old electric tube and smoking the pipe. Little did I know there we?re forces in play who wanted me to do some reviewing. Seems like the OC gods were restless, so the best thing to do was to sacrifice them a review. Since my editor dropped off the A1 water cooling kit the other day, I could really please the gods this time. Maybe they would use their divine powers to give me that Mustang I always ask for Christmas!

Thoughts and conclusion

Thoughts and Conclusion

Overall this kit is a true winner! Aside from some small visual errors, this kit can please everyone. It's both an entry-level and a high-performance setup which is not very easy to produce in this world. If you want to go water cooling, you have to take this kit into consideration. A 2°C difference between idle and load says that this kit really packs a punch.

One of its key benefits is it upgradeability. If you wanted a bigger reservoir or another radiator you can put those in the loop if you have the correct fittings. This is a rare fact in the world of water cooling kits, as manufacturers tend to use their own fitting system (aseteks push-pull system is a good example for this matter)..

Also worth mentioning is the fact that the water block isn't the easiest to install, you have to pull the block away from the core when tightening the bolt, otherwise you could damage your CPU. Most people will do this automatically when installing any cooler, but "most people" are not "all people".

Thanks go out to Alexandre from 1A-cooling.de for setting us up with the review unit, Kr1ST0f for use of his digicam and JMke for his dedication to the project. Beverages are on me the next time I see these people!